Demon's Roses
by Chut Up Bushes
Summary: A woman, Anne, lost her fiance a while ago when a cult attacked. Two years later, they attack again, and now Anne is losing control of her dangerous side, one that kills. And now she starts finding secrets people have been hiding.
1. Prolouge

Prologue

Anne looked at the desolate terrain all around her. A single rabbit nibbled carefully at the grass, scurrying away rapidly as it spotted Anne gazing its way. "I wish," she started, turning to Antonio, "That the entire world was like this."

"So deserted?" Antonio questioned, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. He looked at Anne.

"Well," Anne replied, "I wouldn't call it deserted. I mean, it's just so beautiful, so peaceful." She put her hand on his knee. It's just so secluded, private."

"Don't even think of it," Antonio joked, "Save it for later. Right now, I have to tell you something. I know you wanted our wedding at the cathedral in Vwoto, but I've arranged something else." He turned to Anne, who's expression told him she was a bit weary. "My brother has agreed to come up here and perform a ceremony." He watched Anne reluctantly, afraid of her reaction. To his great relief, she reached across the seat and kissed him. "You are the greatest man alive." Anne exclaimed, hugging him. Antonio smiled, his eyes in a vain expression as if to say, "I know, I know." Antonio just looked at her pleased. "And you," he replied, "Are the greatest women alive. And if you were dead, you'd be the greatest, too."

"Hey," Anne smiled, "What did I do to receive that compliment?"

"You're yourself." He said, "I just feel like being plain cheesy today." Antonio laughed goofily. "I can't help from being cheesy." Anne's smile faded quickly.

"What was that?" Anne suddenly questioned. She looked at Antonio. "Shh, listen."

He held his breath at her request. He heard a faint noise, as if someone was tapping at the window.

"What the hell is that?" Anne whispered harshly. Her face was flushed. It was then that she glanced at the rearview mirror and let out a bloodcurdling scream. Antonio's heartbeat sped up, but as he looked into the back windshield, he saw nothing. Anne was shaking frantically and muttering something Antonio couldn't hear.

"Anne! Anne, what is it? There's nothing there!" But Antonio stopped dead in his tracks when he saw it. A black robed figure wearing a plastic leopard mask peered in through the passenger window. He fingered a shiny steak knife.

"Anne!" He screamed. She was completely unaware of the figure she had her back turned to. He shoved her down as the predator shattered the window with the knife. Anne screamed and followed Antonio as they scurried out the car door. Anne ran, but felt her hands being violently shoved behind her back and her legs imprisoned by two figures dressed in panda and monkey masks threatening her with a gleaming knife at her throat as she struggled violently. They were dangerously near the edge of the cliff, so Anne gave up struggling. Suddenly she heard a shout, "Vavive!" Powerful streams of ora shot out from Antonio's hands and thrust the people violently to the ground. Just as Anne was running to help Antonio, the leopard figure came from nowhere and leaped at him. Anne dashed to the cliff's edge just as Antonio lost his footing and flipped over the railing, pulling the leopard down with him. "Antonio!" She screamed. Anne froze in horror as she watched him fall. "Antonio!" She hollered helplessly. With tears streaming down her face, she turned away as she heard the sickening crack of his body against the rocks below. He was dead.

Sunlight reflected off of the puffy, cotton-like clouds that were scattered among the sky above. Upon a large, fluffy cloud stood a ghost of a man. A gray cloak blanketed him, the hood draped over his face revealing only shadows beneath.

"I need you two to watch over my fiancé," He explained to the two spirit creatures before him. "Check up on her…guide her…don't let her get in harm's way, please," Anguish washed over him as the memories of his death invaded his mind, taunting him like they did everyday. Two pairs of bird eyes watched him intently, squawking their agreement. Majestic spirit creatures they were, for they were both phoenixes. One, with bright, white feathers and emerald eyes seemed eager to please their human friend, and help the best they could. The other, covered in black feathers, seemed reluctant, but his azure eyes were mixed with loyalty and sadness for their friend's loss.

"Now go!" He shouted, and the two phoenixes launched themselves into the air, transforming to take the shape of a white canary, and a black hawk. All spirit animals had the ability to shape shift, but the consequence was that since they were out of their spirit form, the shifter now could feel pain and be harmed. Soon, the innocent, white clouds began to swirl into black, angry masses of danger. Large droplets of water showered the earth below, effectively drenching the two birds. Ear shattering thunder erupted from the clouds, as if bombs were being set off within. Determined, the birds kept flying close together until a fork of lightning slashed between them, forcing them to part separate ways. Seeking shelter, the white canary flew faster toward the earth below. Misjudging the distance from a tree, the bird rammed its side against sharp tree branches and crashed into an empty alleyway, unconscious.

The black hawk continued to dodge flashes of heated lightning, becoming rapidly off-course. Cawing in frustration, it sped faster toward the ground below, but never had the luck. A blinding pain ripped through the hawk's wing, slicing its wing nearly completely off. Screeching, the bird began to drop dangerously fast, its burned and bloody wing flapping uselessly by its side.


	2. Chapter 1

**CAPITULO SIETE ENTRE FAMILIA…ER I MEAN, CHAPTER ONE YAYAYAYA**

**(Chapter written by mi amigo, not me)**

Drumming her fingers against the cash register, Anne stared outside a window at the gray sky. _Business is booming,_ She thought sarcastically as she glanced around her shop that contained only a few people browsing around. A chiming sound alerted her to someone entering her magic shop. Resting her gaze on the man that entered, she spotted a bird on his shoulder. _Doesn't he know pets aren't allowed in my store, no less a bird? _Anne thought angrily, watching him slowly approach the register.

"You know, pets aren't allowed," Anne pointed out, glancing warily at the bird that returned the stare.

"He isn't a pet," The man replied with a smirk.

"Then _what_ is it?" She sighed, not exactly in the mood to hold a conversation.

Stroking the black feathers on the hawk, he commented, "He's a hawk, and my friend. You didn't say "no friends" allowed,"

"Your _hawk_ here isn't an exception. Look, do you want something or not?" He was really getting on the last of her nerves, and she didn't even have a cup of coffee yet…

"Yeah, do you happen to have a book on the black arts?" He asked curiously.

Anne raised her eyebrows.

"Black arts? Whatever for?"

"I need it for a friend who is ill right now, and he's taking an exam on it," The man explained carefully.

Cautious, she replied, "Well, those books are off limits. I don't even know if you are telling the truth,"

"Then how about I show you how trustworthy I am? I'll take you out," He smiled, awaiting her reply.

"Are you asking me on a date? How does this even benefit me?" She inquired incredulously.

Grinning he replied, "Free coffee and a break?"

_It's like he read my mind! Freaky guy…but I have to say, the coffee is tempting,_

"Sure…why not, I guess. I'll meet you outside," Anne decided, sighing. After he stood outside to wait for her, Anne shooed the rest of the browsers out of her shop and locked up; the "Open" sign switched to "Close".

Sipping her coffee, Anne asked, "So do you bring your hawk everywhere just to annoy people?"

The man laughed. "Oh, no, we go everywhere. I found him almost dead in a field after a thunderstorm. Seemed his wing got struck by some lightning, so I took him in and raised him back to health."

"Ah, interesting. So, what's your name?" She asked curiously, resting the coffee cup on the table that separated the two.

"My name? Daren. What about yours?" Daren replied, finishing off his coffee.

"Artimis."

Daren coughed.

"It's Anne. Well, thanks for the free coffee. I must say I still can't let you have the book, even if you are trustworthy. It might get into the wrong hands accidentally, and then "poof", good-bye Earth," Anne explained, as Daren paid the bill and both stood up.

He seemed to be thinking for a moment, before he said, "Well, then I guess coffee isn't enough. Care to watch a movie with me later, then?"

"You are the oddest customer I've ever had in my store. But, what the hell, nothing's going on at my shop today anyway. So what time?" Anne laughed. _Odd customer, all right._

"Hmm, I know there are some movies playing around 7:00. So I'll pick you up…where?" Daren asked; he almost forgot to ask where she lived. The hawk cawed impatiently, wanting to stretch its wings.

"My shop, my home's the top half. Exactly why the stairs aren't for customers," She explained, edgy at the hawk's impatience.

"Alright then, so let's go back to your shop?" He asked.

"Nah, I can walk home fine. It isn't too far, plus it's a nice day," She replied, glancing out a window where the sun had peeked out of a few clouds.

"Okay, see you later," He said, leaving the coffee place with an odd smile on his lips.

_Really, really, weird customer…_Anne thought, a little disturbed at the smile, but she left the coffee shop after he had drove away.

Glancing at a clock, Anne saw that it was 6:55 PM. Now that her shop was closed, and that she had given the day off to her best friend, Tara, who worked here, she had nothing to do but wait. _It's just a movie, Anne; get a hold of yourself…a friend-to-"friend" outing. _But she knew she was just lying to herself. It was a date, and that was it.

Before she could argue with herself again, the sound of a car pulling up by the shop alerted Anne of Daren's presence. _Well, here I go,_ Anne thought as she stepped out into the crisp night air.

Stepping out of the car, Daren smiled. "Hello," He greeted, and even the hawk cawed a greeting.

"Hi," She replied as she walked to the other side of the car to open the door. Daren moved to open it for her, but she glanced at him and said,

"I think I'm capable of opening a car door for myself, thanks," Laughing, Daren nodded and entered the car also. Starting up the car, he glanced at Anne and asked her,

"So I found out two movies are playing at 7:20. Tristan and Isolde, and When A Stranger Calls. Your choice,"

"Hmm…well, my friend Tara and I have already planned to watch When A Stranger Calls, so let's go watch Tristan and Isolde, then." She replied, placing a stray blonde hair behind her ear.

"Alright, let's go," He agreed as he drove out of the parking lot and toward the theatre.

"Are you sure they'll let your hawk into the theatre?" Anne asked curiously as they approached the theatre doors.

"Of course they will, they know me already," Daren grinned, petting the bird's feathers.

"Okay, if you say so. But, if they kick you out then I don't know you and I was just innocently walking up to the theatre," Anne replied jokingly.

Daren laughed as they both entered the doors and walked up the ticket line, where surprisingly, there was no line.

"Two adult tickets to Tristan and Isolde, please," Daren asked the lady behind the cash register. Receiving Daren's money, the lady handed him two tickets in return. "Hmm.Theatre 14, theatre 14…where is theatre 14…" Daren muttered as he started to turn left into rows of doors for theatres.

"Uh, Daren, theatre 14 is right here…" Anne said, laughing as he realized his mistake and hurried to join her. "I still wanted to pay for my ticket," She grumbled when they entered through the doors and took a seat in the middle row.

"Well, this date is on me, so you aren't supposed to pay any money," Daren grinned.

"Well, then I guess I'll just have to buy something tonight…" She joked. The hawk hopped onto the seat next to Daren, claiming it as his own. Unfortunately, the hawk's weight wasn't enough to keep the seat up for long, and the seat flung back and smushed it between the two seat parts. Groaning, Daren pushed down on the seat and freed his friend. Putting his coat down onto the seat to add weight, he placed the bird on top and now the seat didn't budge.

"There," He muttered, trying not to laugh at the expense of his friend. Disgruntled, the bird rearranged his ruffled feathers before sitting comfortably again. Suddenly, the lights began to dim until altogether there were no lights except on the movie screen.

Anne glanced around the theatre and was surprised to see no one but them there.

"Daren, look, we're the only ones here," She whispered to him, although they were alone; it was a habit she had to whisper when the movie was going to start.

"Then it's just like a private theatre for us, huh?" He thought out loud, but they both quieted when the movie began to start. ((ikgmoggomgaosfjajwrhkawjhr AHHHH I'm getting butterflies starting this whole part right now!!))

During the scene where Tristan and Isolde were kissing,

Anne became very aware of Daren's presence. Glancing at him, she saw that he was staring at her. Quickly, they both looked the other way. Slowly, Anne looked back again at him and he looked back at her. With the movie ignored, they both began to just look at each other, not really sure what to do or what they were doing, for the matter.

_We're all alone in a dark theatre with a romance movie playing…oh boy,_ Anne thought, blushing a little, but grateful that the darkness hid it. Daren's head began to move closer to her, and all Anne could focus on was his lips.

_Ahh! Anne, get a hold of yourself! Maybe he's just going to whisper something to you, _Anne mentally snorted in her head. _Ha, yeah right, but what does he think he's…_

She never finished the thought, for Daren's lips were just inches away from her own. Anne realized that she had moved closer to him, but she wasn't really aware of it. Then, Daren's lips met hers in a kiss, and they quickly pulled back a little. Two pairs of eyes closed as they kissed again, and Anne placed her hands upon his shoulders. For what seemed like hours, they pulled away for air and Anne blushed heavily. _Oh my God…oh my God…_ Like a mantra, the phrase repeated in Anne's head over and over.

"Did you hear that?" Daren asked suddenly, looking around as if to find the source of the noise he was hearing.

"Hear what?" Anne asked, stopping her thoughts to listen. She heard a scratching sound near the exit of the theatre. Glancing toward the exit, she saw a tiny pair of red eyes stare back at her. Gasping, she screamed, but it was muffled by Daren's hand on her mouth.

"We don't know how many there are," He whispered to her. Standing up, they looked around cautiously. Anne felt a claw on her shoulder. Choking on her breath, she slowly turned around and came face to face with a bear masked person. Anne didn't even have time to scream before it slashed at her neck and she fell. More slashes came to her arms, and she could feel liquid running down her body.

_Blood,_ She realized before Daren whipped out a revolver and whacked the bear man on the head, knocking him out. His hawk flew toward the other person and pecked at the pressure point on his neck to make him faint. Daren helped Anne up, and asked, "Are you alright?"

"I was clawed, But I will be," She replied, and they both walked out of the theatre. It was completely empty, and the lady behind the cash register was nowhere to be seen. The emptiness gave Anne a paranoid feeling, and she followed Daren to the public bathrooms to clean the blood off. Using a bunch of toilet paper to stop the blood from oozing out, they left the building and headed back to the car.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Anne sighed. She stared intently at the man's cracked palms and coarse, mahogany skin. On his face was a plastic pineapple mask. "¿Está Tara, por favor?" Anne gazed at the man with a weary expression on her face. "Uh," She said, trying to recall the thorough Spanish course she had taken. First things first, she thought. "¿Tu es una piña?" The man cocked his pineapple head and snickered at her awkward Spanish sentence.

"Sí," he said, "Esta Tara, por favor?" Anne pushed a blond strand of hair from her face.

"Just a sec… I mean… un momento." She motioned for him to stay, then stepped out from behind the counter. "Tara!" She hollered, "There's a Spanish pineapple here to see you!" As her best friend emerged from the back room, she started speaking fluent Spanish to the pineapple person. Anne signaled to Tara that she was going to take her break. She made her way to the back room, where books and beakers and papers were scattered carelessly everywhere. She pulled at her turtleneck. It's Halloween, she thought, and it has to be so suffocating and warm. She wheeled up a chair and sat down in front of the computer. She went to her home page, then clicked on CULTS. She typed in the search box "animal masks." Ten results popped up, but as she scanned through them, they were useless. "Women who practice the summoning of spiritual rabbits by dressing up like them… by wearing extra legs, a group of fourteen year olds worship the god of spiders…" Anne read them in a listless voice, none fitting the attacker's description. "This isn't working!" She cried, and slammed her fist on the desk. "Crap!" She shouted as she sliced her pinky on a letter opener. She got up and paced aimlessly around the room. She felt so anxious; she felt apprehension rip through her with every step she took. Suddenly she heard Tara shouting to someone. Fiery red head, she always thought. Tara could lose her temper so easily. She cautiously stuck her head around the doorway so she could see what was going on. Anne's heart skipped a beat. Searing pain ripped through her wounds again as she saw her best friend talking brusquely to someone in a plastic panda mask. He was banging a sharp tipped knife violently against the counter. She snatched up her gun from her hidden drawer- there for safety measures.

"Tara!" She screamed. "Tara, back away!" Anne trembled all over as she held the gun up to the panda. As Tara glanced Anne's way, her eyes widened.

"Anne! Anne, what's wrong with you? Put that down!" But she ignored Tara and quickly closed in on the panda.

"Get away from her. Don't even try me this time." The man yanked off his panda mask in fear and put the knife down to Anne's response.

"Okay, lady, keep the mask and the knife! And the money, too!" The frightened man dashed out the door timidly, taking one last look at the barrel of the gun as he fled. Tara stepped up to her friend and yanked the gun from her hands. She watched her with uneasy eyes.

"God, Anne! What the hell is wrong with you!? Next time you're plotting to murder one of the customers, let me know, will you!?" Tara shook her head. "Man, what is with you lately?" She picked up the knife that was lying on the counter and pushed on the tip. It slid up into the rest of the knife. "It's retractable, god, these are some of the things we sell here on _Halloween_." Tara rolled her eyes and shoved her red hair behind her ears.

"No, I mean, I thought that…" Anne stopped in mid-sentence. She picked up a stack of folders that lay by the register, trying to make herself useful. She walked away briskly. She felt Tara's hand on her shoulder as she spun her around. "Come on, Anne, what is going on? Are you going skitzo on me or something?" But the tone in Tara's voice was filled with concern, not sarcasm. Anne dropped the folders roughly on the table.

"Yeah, well, Tara, maybe sometimes you have to think of someone other than yourself. You don't even know how Antonio died, do you?" Anne questioned sharply. Tara looked at Anne.

"Anne, you and I both know he fell off Mount Ridgemore."

"He didn't fall." Anne retorted. Tara's face froze in an expression of sadness mixed with horror.

"He was pushed." Tara whispered. Anne just looked at her.

"It was a cult. They were wearing these stupid plastic animal masks. They seemed so harmless. Until I saw my fiancé fall 600 feet to his death, they would have seemed harmless. And last night, when I was with Daren," She said, taking a deep breath, "They attacked. It was so dark, Tara, it was so dark in the theatre. They came out of nowhere." Anne pulled up the thick sleeves of her shirt to reveal long, red scars splayed across her arms. She pulled down her turtleneck to expose three bloody marks on her neck. Tara stood there. "Oh, Anne, I… I'm sorry, I didn't know." Tara hugged her, and Anne made no move to shy away as she would have usually. Tara was the only person she had, and it felt better than anything in the world to lay in her arms.

That was the moment when they heard the scream ripping through the air. Anne and Tara gasped and rushed to the front of the store.

"Mommy, mommy, get it away!" A little girl was howling. She had light brown hair piled on top of her head with what seemed like thousands of bobby pins. Anne glanced at what the little girl was cowering from. It was Banana, the experimental bunny they kept in the shop. Tara picked up Banana and pet him. "This is Banana," Anne said, motioning to the bunny, "What's your name?" The little girl hesitated, looking at her mother for approval. Her mother nodded.

"Anya," The little girl whispered cautiously, "Hey, why do you call him Banana?" Anne smiled. She knew her only soft spot was for children.

"Well, Anya, he used to be a ban…I mean, we like to eat bananas." Anne said. She leaned to the mother, "This shop isn't really for kids, there's really dangerous things in this shop." The mother nodded.

"I just wanted to buy a Halloween mask for her." The mother claimed.

"You should try another place, the masks here are _special_, if you know what I mean." The mother gave her an odd look than shooed her little girl out the door. "Whoo, what a world we live in! I mean, it's a magic shop, duh! Does the word magic sound familiar to you?" Anne snapped, "I think I'm going to take my break if you don't mind. I'll be at the ice cream place down the block." Anne pulled on her jacket.

"But Anne," Tara said, concerned, "It's dark out. What if they hurt you again?" Anne looked at her. "Tara, I want to find them. They'll get what they deserve." She snapped sharply, but pulled off her coat anyway. She tossed in onto the chair. "Maybe we can make them come to us." Tara was about to question, "Since when was it us?" but stopped, knowing that that's not what a best friend would say. "I think," she offered, "There's a book on summoning people, or cults."

"I don't really have the strength to summon an entire cult, but maybe the leader." Anne thought out loud. Tara strolled to the bookshelf and took down a black arts book entitled _Summoning Spells and Charms_. She sat Indian style on the floor and fingered the pages until she found one that was right. "How about this one?" Tara started, "_To Send Forth an Enemy_."

"Sounds good," Anne said, "It's an enemy, all right." Anne studied Tara. She seemed so into this, so willing to help her. I guess, she thought, Tara really is my best friend.

"Okey dokey," Tara said, "We need angel dust, two equal sized Black Tiger stones, firefly wings, and this Arabic charm." Tara listed, pointed to the triangular design on the paper. Anne gathered the items as Tara read them off the paper. She got angel dust from the cabinet beneath the cash register, the Black Tiger stones from the collection of mystical rocks on the shelf, and firefly wings from her charms jar. "Hey, Tara, can you just copy that sign onto a paper for it to work?"

"Sí." She answered, and grabbed a piece of tracing paper from the shelf, copying the design cautiously. "Now," she said as she traced, "Spread the angel dust around us in a circle. Place the two Black Tiger Stones in the middle. Now," Tara said, setting the Arabic drawing on the floor, "I touch this with one hand, you the other, and we extend our other palms with the firefly wings on them. Then we chant, "May the Dark Lord of Bultyzer bring our enemy to us."

"Okay," Anne said, "Ready?" With firefly wings on their palms and the vague, pungent sent of angel dust surrounded them, they watched the two Black Tiger stones float higher with every chant. Suddenly, just as Anne and Tara were being overwhelmed in power, the bell clinked on the door and the stones fell to the tile with a click.

"Doing a little spell, I see?" Daren questioned. Anne got up and walked to him.

"Yeah, and you ruined it." She said, half relieved and half disappointed. Tara rose to the floor and swiped at the dust on her jeans. "It's okay," She said, "We weren't really that prepared anyway. So this," She whispered to Anne, "Is the famous Daren? Ahh, I see." Tara said, smiling, "I'll be in the back room if you need me. Which I'm sure you won't." Tara strutted into the back room with a confident smile on her face .

"So, what was this? I wasn't expecting you!" Anne responded, acting angry and surprised at the same time." Daren gave her a troubled look.

"Listen," He said, "I'm sorry about last night. But Anne, I have to tell you something. They're coming Anne, they're coming. They want to kill you."


	4. Chapters 3 & 4

**I'm combining the next two chapters because they're kind of shorty ones**

Chapter something or other blah blah BLAH PiñA

"There are no pets allowed in the shop. Unless you're dyslexic or retarded, I'd think you'd be able to read the huge, big ass 10-foot sign in front of the shop saying '"NO PETS."' In bold print, may I mention, I'd think you would reconsider the choice of bringing your bird into this store." The man gazed at Anne with a peculiar expression on his face, as if he hadn't expected those authoritative words to come out of her little mouth.

"Uh, I can't really help it," He said weakly, motioning to his milky white bird that pecked at his palm, "He follows me around everywhere." Anne rolled her eyes at his comment. What is it with the bird people these days? Did they completely forget about Alfred Hitchcock's movie about how birds can be completely murderous and poke your eyes out until there's nothing left but blood pouring out of your sockets? Anne gave him the look over. "You seem foreign. Where you from?" The man laughed and smiled, to Anne a smile that said, "I'm extremely flirtatious and hot, so will you go to the bar with me and then we can both get drunk and then go waddling back to my apartment and have sex?"

"I'm from Ethiopia. My name's Soralis." Soralis said without the least of a hint of accent.

"I'm from this mind-numbing, infuriating town. My name's Anne."

"Oh, I know." Soralis said with anomalous pride.

"Hee hee. Okay now, either you go or the parakeet does." Anne said plainly.

"He's a canary," Soralis replied smartly, "And there's a party down at Behimi's tonight. Consider it." With that, he walked tentatively out the door, as is to expect Anne to stop him.

"Or," Anne said softly, "You can both leave."

Anne picked up her purse and checked the mirror once more. Behimi's was the coolest bar in town, but she never had even considered going to one of their parties before until Soralis had told her about it. He's a decent guy, she thought, maybe I can try to hook him up with Tara. "Tara!" She called, "Are you coming?" Soon Anne heard the click of heals down the stairs and Tara appeared before her. "Whoa," Anne commented, startled, "What have they done with my best friend? God, Tara, you're looking hot! If I were gay, I'd totally ask you out on a date." She wore _tight _leather pants and a snug red midriff tank top.

"Thanks. I think!" Tara laughed, "You look awe-inspiring, too. But the whole gay thing, not going to go that far." She joked. They walked out the door and into the cool, stiff night air. The flashing lights and pounding music from Behimi's could be seen and heard from the shop five blocks away.

Before she knew it, the Tara had opened the door to Behimi's and they were officially in the coolest club in town. The club's chairs and tables were all cleared out, and it reminded her of her old high school dances, the way Behimi's looked like such a big auditorium packed with people who didn't even know how to dance. Anne was surprised and impressed when a young man came up taking their jackets out to the coatroom. "Oh, Anne, I…" Tara was stopped in mid-sentence as a younger version of Brad Pitt took her by the arm and out to the dance floor. "Uh, see you later, I guess!" She shouted as she was dragged to the pack of uncoordinated people. Anne didn't mind. She knew she'd find Adriana somewhere around, her friend from The Pug Pub who often went to parties here. When she scanned the crowd for her friend, she found Adriana standing by the counter arguing with the bartender. "Adriana!" Anne shouted, and the girl turned to her at the sound of her name. She said something to the bartender, then made her way over to Anne. "Hey, girlfriend!" She cried, "You finally made it to one of Behimi's big bashes, huh? Where's Tara?"

"Oh, she was grabbed off by some guy. I tell, you, she always gets the good ones. This one looked as if he could've been Brad Pitt." Anne complained and kidded at the same time.

"Don't worry, girl. There's a guy right over there eyeing your butt." Adriana whispered and nodded her head to a man standing behind Anne.

"Oh my god. You're so right, Adriana. Daren!" Anne shouted to him as she noticed that it was actually Daren staring at her. He gave a quick wave and a shy smile, lumbering over to her.

"Hi. Since when do you go to Behimi's? I'm here for every party. Hey," Daren suddenly said, noticing the impressive sized ring on her finger, "You're engaged? So I'm just better than him, aren't I? You're cheating on him because I'm so much more intriguing than him? Or are you just a regular two-timer who cheats on their fiancé all the time?" He said this with no hesitation, without any sarcasm or joking in his voice whatsoever, as if he had said it thousands and thousands of times over again. Anne stared at him, bewildered at what had just come out of his mouth. She looked around for Adriana, but she wasn't anywhere to be seen.

"What did I just hear you say!?" She screamed, "How could you just judge someone like that without even knowing anything?"

"I… I just…" Daren stumbled.

"Oh, don't even start! How could you ever think I would cheat on somebody? Much less Antonio. Is this the kind of person you think I am? Do you think that I would hurt somebody I loved? Without even taking into account that he could be dead? I didn't know you were like that Daren." She said angrily.

"But Anne, I thought I was your life…" Daren pleaded.

"My life? My life! Anything but! Antonio was my life!" And just as Anne said this, there was a pause in between the songs, a pause from all the chatter, and all eyes were on her. As Anne stormed away, she could here a small voice in the distance saying, "Anne! Anne, it's me, Tara, Anne, come back!"

Darkness flooded her as Anne stepped into the coatroom, silence gloomily sat all around. She ran her hand along the wall, hoping to find a light switch, or just to guide her way thorough the dark, narrow room. She seemed to walk forever until she stumbled into something. She grasped the wall to keep her from falling, and her hand hit a switch. Bright white light suddenly engulfed her. She blinked a few times as she let her eyes adjust to the light, and looked down. She screamed. In front of her lay a girl's body. It looked as if she had been torn to shreds, bloody marks everywhere, the face unrecognizable. Anne trembled in fear as she kneeled down beside the girl, and discovered a silver bracelet around her wrist. It read "Adriana." Anne crumpled down in grief and found that on her palm was a drawing of a spotted feline, a leopard. The bloody scarred words under it read, "I'm back."

**Chapter um…YEAH WELL IT'S A NEW CHAPTER SO YOU BETTER BE GLAD I'M NOT PROCRASTINATING---err I mean, enjoy!**

**(Chapter written by Chelsea Edwards)**

Sunlight peeked out behind dark clouds, shining upon graves of those long gone. A crowd gathered around an empty grave, freshly dug and a casket lay nearby. After the priest said what was needed, four workers lowered the casket into the hole, shoveling dirt back on top to forever cover it. Engraved on the marble stone behind the grave, where the words, "Rest in Peace, Adriana Seihukani. May ((uh, day paleez)) 1975 – November 2nd, 2006." Family and friends slowly walked back into the church for refreshments.

Standing farther from the mingling mourners, Anne wiped her tear-streaked face with her hand angrily. "This has to stop."

Tara put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, they'll get what they deserve soon,"

"But that's just it! We can't wait; something has to be done now. Maybe Daren knows something about this cult," Anne wondered, deciding that she would have to ask him later.

"Hopefully," Tara commented. Once the reception ((is that even the word?)) was over, Tara went to get in the car.

"You coming in?" She asked Anne, starting up the engine.

Anne glanced back at Adriana's grave. "Nah, I'm going to stay here for a few. I can walk back home," She reassured her.

Nodding, Tara replied, "Well, if you say so. Just be careful of creepy old men and…oh, maybe creepy old women!" Laughing, she drove off.

Shaking her head with a smile on her lips, Anne approached the grave again. The smile faltered as she reread the words upon the gravestone over and over.

"How do things happen so fast?" She whispered to herself, watching the wind caress the leaves barely hanging onto the weak branches of a tree.

"Time can do funny things," A voice replied from behind her. Startled, Anne spun around to glare at the man who had intruded in her thoughts.

"Soralis!" She exclaimed, a hand to her heart. "You almost gave me a heart attack!"

Soralis flashed a grin at her. "That wouldn't be too good, would it?"

Anne groaned. "No, but I think I'd rather have one right now. Why are you here anyway?" She asked, wondering if he had any relatives that passed away here.

"Visiting family," He replied, glancing around at the gravestones. The canary upon his shoulder chirped, flapping its wings. "What about you?"

Anne paused to look at Adriana's grave, then said, "Visiting a friend." An idea suddenly appeared in her head, "You wouldn't happen to know anything about an animal cult, would you?" She asked, innocently, or what she hoped was innocent.

"Animal cult?" Soralis' eyes darkened at the two words. "Yes, I do. They murdered my parents, who were excellent at magic. The cult wanted them to make them all-powerful, and become real animal demons, you know? But my parents' wouldn't let them, and were killed for it. They stole the spell books, and when I awoke, I couldn't find them anywhere,"

"I'm sorry, but how do you know they were the cult if you were sleeping while it happened?" Anne asked.

"They left evidence. Fur, and claws. My parent's wouldn't die without a fight. I've figured out that if you have enough DNA from that stuff, you can trace it to the human, but nothing too specific. Just basic description, you know." He answered, as the first of the raindrops fell from the clouds.

"Your place? Would you mind if I came, because I… I need to know something," Anne managed to reply, hope swirling in her chest. If she could find out who murdered them, she would be able to avenge Antonio and Adriana's death.

"Alright, let's go," Soralis replied, walking off with Anne to follow.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter blah blah something or other having to do with magic y piñas

Anne stole a glance around the shop. Tara was skimming the book shelves looking for something while Soralis was sitting at a table, deeply absorbed into a Spanish spell book about monkeys. It was entitled _Mono Deletrea para Torcherar a su Amigos Asnos. _Daren had just walked in and was flipping through a spell book. Anne didn't want to disturb Soralis, and Tara looked like she didn't want anyone to interrupt her. "Daren, what are you looking for in there?" Daren looked up at her question.

"A spell to change people into animals. My boss is extremely annoying and is really getting on my nerves. If I could change him into a spider, I could squash him _so _much more easily." Daren laughed, but his face remained serious as he closed the book.

"Ah, a tangled web of spells we weave." Anne sighed, "Couldn't you not even beat him at a basketball game? I mean, Daren, he's a little on the chubby side. You think you could score a little more than him."

"Hey, at least I'd be able to score more than _you._" Daren insulted with a daring sneer on his face. He knew Anne couldn't resist an insult.

"Uh! Yeah, right, dork wad! I would _so _kick your ass! You, me, Tara, Soralis. Tomorrow. 2. Gym. Be there, butt face."

"Be prepared to get your butt kicked to Pluto, monkey ass." Daren hissed challengingly. He walked out the door and Soralis looked up as the doorbell clinked.

"Did I hear someone say something about monkeys and asses?"

Anne and Tara arrived and hour early. The small, enclosed space was empty since Anne had gone through the trouble of reserving it for them. She had brought her own basketball after a half hour of searching it, finally finding it among the items in her shop. That's weird, she had thought, but dismissed the thought as Tara passed the ball to her. She dribbled the ball and raised her arm for a shot. Tara attempted to block it, but it made a _swish _as it went into the net anyway.

"You're good," She complimented, "What do you need practice for?" Tara asked, taking her red hair behind her head into a ponytail. Suddenly they heard the shout of voices and turned to see Daren and Soralis entering the gym. "Ah," Soralis said, "So you ladies are here early to practice."

"Not practice," Anne sighed as if he was a dim-witted, clumsy ass (as in donkey, duh), "Warm-up. Why are you guys here so early?" Anne questioned, laughing.

"Early cat catches the mouse." Daren said naturally.

"That's a new phrase." Tara said with a laugh, "Now since we're all here, let's get going. I'm with Daren, Anne, you're with Soralis."

The game went smoothly at first, except for Daren stumbling over the ball one or two or thirty times. Anne got three 2-pointers and a 3-pointer, while Soralis got five 2-pointers. Within 10 minutes, the score was and easy 19 to 10. Most of the points on Tara and Daren's team were from Tara, though. Things seemed to be going well, and everybody was enjoying themselves. Until Daren fowled Anne.

"Okay, up to the free-throw line, Anne." Soralis replied, smiling. They were really showing Daren, and Daren was really humiliating himself.

"Nice, going, dumbo." Tara mumbled to Daren. He smiled innocently.

"Everybody shut up! Can't a girl concentrate?" Anne demanded. She dribbled and lifted the ball up to the hoop, about to shoot, when something made her hesitate. Anne stopped and cocked her head. What was that?

"What's the hold up, worm poop?" Daren questioned, but stopped talking when Anne put a hand up to silence him.

"Don't you hear it?" Anne insisted menacingly. Tara looked at Anne in awe.

"I hear it, I hear it. It's the inside of Daren's head asking, "why is it so empty in here?" Tara chuckled at her own joke but stopped short when Anne gave her the evil eye. Anne strained to hear it again. Yes, there it was. It was like the tiny ticking of a clock, a gentle _tick tock. _She glanced around. No one was wearing a watch, nor was there a clock anywhere "Hey, I hear it, too. It's a little ticking noise." Soralis said proudly, and started searching the room with his eyes. The others nodded that they had heard it, too. Anne let the ball slip from her hands and as it rolled away, the ticking grew softer. The group of four turned toward the direction of the basketball and their eyes widened.

"It's in the ball! There's a bomb in the ball!" Tara shouted and rushed forward to grab it. As she picked it up, she dropped it and let out a cry. "It's sizzling!" But nevertheless, as she spotted an open window up near the ceiling she grabbed it and in full basketball form, tossed it from her hands to the window. It went strait out. Just moments later, the group heard a gigantic boom and thick, black smoke seeped in through the window.

"And I always thought I was bad at long shots." Tara said triumphantly.


	6. Chapters 6 & 7

**CAPITULO ??? yeah well its something**

**(Chapter written by mi amigo, not me)**

**(Before the basketball incident)**

**"**You have a…" Anne tried to find the word, "…cozy home."

Soralis laughed, looking at the small interior all around him.

"You can say that. I never wanted anything big anyway," leading Anne to the computer, he took another seat for himself and let her sit in the one before the PC. "Knock yourself out. I already have the program with the fur and claws hooked to the computer so they can track it," He explained, leaning back in the chair. Nodding, Anne clicked "Begin Search" on the window that Soralis already had up with the search engine. Almost like a scanner, lights flashed inside the machine with the evidence. The page loaded, and Anne began to read the content of it with Soralis looking over her shoulder.

"It says here this evidence is definitely part of the animal cult…it's a male, and in human form he is usually in town a lot…blah blah blah…" Anne mumbled as she read.

"Hmm, it doesn't really say anything else, but maybe if we dig deeper into the program, it'll say something." Soralis suggested, and just as Anne was about to do so, a knock sounded at the door. "Who would be knocking on my door?" Soralis wondered as he got up and went to open the door. Curious, Anne moved to the seat next Soralis had taken so she could see who it was. Opening the door, Soralis came face to face with Daren in a police outfit, complete with a hawk on his shoulder.

"Daren?" Soralis and Anne asked in unison, completely confused.

_Daren doesn't know where Soralis lives…and he never told me he was a police officer!_ Anne thought, standing up to walk over to the two.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Anne asked.

"I'd like to ask the same thing," Daren replied coolly, glaring at Soralis.

Soralis's eyes widened. "No, it's nothing like that!"

"How dare you question me like that! Soralis and I were looking up info on… some things I need to know," Anne snapped at him.

"Oh, that makes sense if you were using the computer, then. I was tracing an illegal hacking program through the computer network…and I got here," He said, looking at Soralis questioningly.

"Hacking program? I don't use hacking programs…" Soralis replied, confused.

"Well, it could be a new program you have running that is a hacker," Daren said.

_It must be that animal cult program…_ Anne realized, and looking at Soralis, he seemed to have realized it also.

"It must be this program I bought that came with a machine…it looks up things with DNA and reports back to what it is, exactly," Soralis explained.

"I'm sorry, but I have to remove it by police orders. It's dangerous because you can search people up with it and find out where they live," He replied, and Soralis led him into the computer room.

Unhooking the machine and deleting the program off the computer, Daren waved goodbye to both of them and walked back to his police car, stuffing the item in the trunk.

"I almost had it! Almost! I am so going to pound Daren when I see him," Anne shouted, frustrated.

The chapter that's like whoa! Mass murder in the shop of annoying teens…

Anne felt anger welling up inside of her. "Don't touch that." She rasped through clenched teeth. She felt her skin tingle, and a small voice whispered, _yell at them, scream at them._ She took a deep breath. The tall 16-year-old with shaggy brown hair and baggy, loose denim jeans ignored her. He picked up the black dust and began to take it out of the bag by the handfuls, flurrying them everywhere.

"Stop that!" Anne yelled. She knew that the Night Dust was one hundred dollars per half a cup, and they were wasting it all. Anne came out from behind the counter as the 13-year-old blond girl was singing, "Ooh, pretty powder." The girl's eyes behind her purple glasses showed psycho thoughts. Her cat shirt glistened in the fluorescing lights of the store. The other boy, about fourteen, Anne thought, reached his hand into the display case.

_Slam it on his hand, slam it on his hand. _

The voice whispered. Anne took the sliding glass door, and before the boy had time to react, slammed it shut on his hand. He yelped in pain and shook his buzz cut head, squeezing his hand out of the display case. "You're crazy, lady!" He shouted, and whispered to the other kid, a girl of about twelve or thirteen with a shirt on that said, _I Support the Gays Because I am one. _"Kennedy," He whispered, "This woman is whacko. This is what you'll be like when you're around fifty." He made sure he said the last part loudly so that Anne would hear it.

"Just get out." Anne snarled impatiently. The kids looked at her. The blond haired girl, the 16-year-old, and Kennedy paused at the door of the shop, waiting for the buzz cut kid with his red hand. The kid stopped at the counter, spinning the picture of Anne and Antonio in Jamaica around and picking it up. "Put that down, now." Anne cried, almost desperately.

"Loveliness." He took the picture and slammed the frame violently on the floor. An echo of breaking glass echoed through the shop. The others kids laughed and stepped forward, Kennedy doing the honors of taking the photo and ripping it in half. The sound of the tear seemed to fill the entire room, but didn't overwhelm the voice saying to Anne, _kill them, kill them now._

"Thanks for helping me try to figure this out." Tara said to Soralis greatfully. They had spent the day making phone calls and e-mailing everyone Anne knew and did know in the past, looking them up on the computer, finding information from their families. They knew that one of them had to be doing this all, and Soralis had willingly agreed when Tara said they should research it. "I would shake your hand," Soralis replied, "But I don't know if it'll hurt you or not." He winced empathetically, motioning to her burned, bandaged hands.

"Oh, that's fine," she said, and just hugged him. They stood there awkwardly for a few moments, until they finally both opened their mouths, replying in unison, "I don't really like you."

"Good," Tara sighed in relief, "I thought maybe I would hurt your feelings, but I really like you as a friend."

"Me, too," Soralis said, "I just felt so much pressure because Anne really seemed to want us together. But I like you as a friend, too."

"Well, glad we both feel the same way. That definitely reduces the awkwardness. I'm going to have to be on my way, now, so Buenos noches!" Tara smiled, and gave Soralis a wave as she walked out the door.

"I speak Arabic, not Spanish!" Soralis shouted jokingly as the door closed.

As Tara approached the shop, she sensed darkness. The windows were pitch black, and an eerie feeling came over her. Her heart started beating faster, and as she opened the shop door and heard the familiar bell, started shouting, "Anne, Anne, where are you?" She felt along the wall for the light switch. The flicked it on, but nothing happened. She tried it a few more times, but it was still dark. She knew there was a light bulb to her right, and felt for the string hanging down from it. After a few seconds of grasping dead air, she felt the cord. She wrapped her fingers around it and pulled. A dull light loomed around her. She glanced over the shop, and her eyes fell on the four sacs lying in front of the counter. Wait a minute, Tara realized with a start, her eyes adjusting to the dim light, those are bodies. Four teens lay in an enormous pool of seeping red blood. Tara heard distant screams, but realized it was herself, screaming her head off. Tara jumped as someone emerged from the back room. She was about to dash out the door until the image stepped into the bare light. It was Anne. Her best friend's blond hair was straggly; her eyes wide open in terror. Her hands and arms were soaked in blood. Tara rushed forward and hugged her friend. "Anne, are you okay, oh my god, Anne, what happened?" Anne stood there for a while, staring at Tara as if processing a foreign language. "Who did this?" Tara repeated.

"It's coming, it's coming," Anne said daizily, rubbing her hands along her bloody arms, "It won't stop, it can't stop."

"Anne, you aren't making sense!" Tara shouted helplessly.

"I won't… I can't stop. I can't stop killing people."


	7. Chapter 8

Chapter bla and this is gonna get really confusing if I don't start giving them numbers

Tara woke up the next morning hidden beneath the puffy covers of her bed. She sat up, dazed.

_What a totally weird dream._

She shook the thought from her head, and cautiously crawling out of her cozy cocoon, made her way downstairs to the shop.

As Tara yawned and made her way to the counter, Anne looked up and smiled at her.

"You were out late last night. What were you doing, exactly, missy?" Anne questioned as she slipped the wads of money into the register, locking it up.

"I was going to ask you the same thing. Did you happen to kill a bunch of people last night?"

Anne's brown eyes flickered. She blinked. She licked her lips. She leaned in close to Tara. At a whisper too quiet to even call it one, she breathed into Tara's ear;

"_How did you know?"_

Tara laughed and leaned back from Anne.

"I had the weirdest dream that there were a bunch of these teenagers all dead and stuff, I mean, in the shop. And you were saying stuff like you can't stop killing people or something."

At this, Anne let out a dry laugh that seemed more like a cough, pushing her hair almost anxiously behind her ears.

"Like I would ever to that."

Awkward silence hung in the air as the door's bell rang. Both Tara and Anne looked up to see Daren making his grand entrance, his eagle looking noble on his shoulder.

"Hello, ladies." He responded, nodding at the two of them.

A sudden chill rushed through Tara's body. She shook it off quickly.

"Hey, Daren. How's your eagle?"

"Eagle?" He questioned, a wave of confusion washing over his face.

"The thing that's perched on your shoulder… it flies…"

"Oh- yes," Daren's face crinkled into a smile, but his eyebrows plunged into a frown. "I just- sometimes forget that he's a bird. He's like a friend."

"Are you suggesting that you have seen me, on accounts, sitting on Anne's shoulder?"

"Hey, you're not supposed to tell him that." Anne spoke at last, but there was no hint of affection in her voice. "Daren, the shop is closed."

"Well, can't I be an exception?"

"You don't make exceptions, remember?"

At this point Tara blushed, feeling out of place. She quietly made her way up the stairs to change.

Daren heaved a sigh, something that sounded more like a grunt. He pulled a chair across the floor and sank down into it. The eagle squawked loudly as Daren sat against its wing and leaped from his shoulder, dancing around on the counter in front of Anne.

"Anne- I have work, you know. I mean, that's my job. You know if I could've, I'd had let you use it. But I can't. What were you doing, anyway?"

"Screw it, policeman. Why do you get paid so much for busting people's asses?"

Daren seemed almost taken aback by Anne's sudden statement. He stared at her, then rose from his seat. Anne was startled as Daren walked up to the counter, placed both of his hands on the smooth surface and leaned forward, staring into her eyes. For some reason, Anne backed up. She thought she saw a flicker of anger in Daren's eyes.

"Did you get much sleep last night? You seem kind of… not yourself."

Anne reached forward and stroked the smooth feathers of the eagle.

"It's been a long week and I have to start working or it's going to seem even longer. So, can I kick you out?"

Daren leaned back again.

"I've never heard of that. But, if it'll make you feel better, you _may _kick me out."

Anne opened her mouth to respond, but the eagle emitted a strange, almost strangled noise, clamping down on Anne's thumb with his sharp beak. She shot her head up to look at Daren, sucking on her thumb. The edges of Daren's lips curled up slightly, as if to smile, but his eyes were serious. He yanked the bird up from the counter, but it never took it's amber eyes from Anne.

"Uh, sorry, Anne. He can get kind of aggressive. Do you need any help with that?" But his offer wasn't taken seriously by Anne as he started heading to the door.

"I think I can put a Band-aid on myself, thanks."

Anne hardly had time to finish her sentence as the door clinked shut.


End file.
